Being addicted to gambling means to have a compulsion for gambling, this leads to devastating results for both the gambler and his family. It’s important to remember when offering support to a gambler that wants to quit, that there is a successful treatment for gamblers that has a success rate of over 80%. If you or one of your loved ones wants to know how to stop gambling, make sure to consult a professional or seek help from programs such as Allen Carr that helps to quit gambling.
Economic Effects
A gambler always faces a high risk of losing their gamble, so when partaking in gambling, they can lose everything they own. A negative aspect is that any two of the three gambling addicts are likely to be engaged in illegal activities to pay off their gambling debt. There are several gambling addiction problems that are related to the economic costs, such as:
- Increased rate of unemployment
- Forgery and fraud
- Bankruptcy
- Substance abuse, like drugs and alcohol
- Issues with mental and physical health
Social Effect
Gambling has a negative effect on families, close relatives and friends. In many situations, the loved ones of the gambler are under constant threat of creditors and bill collectors which ends with divorce and mental and physical abuse. Not to mention the sheer amount of stress a family must endure to pay off the gambler’s debt. Children that are in their formative years are the most susceptible to the effects of the gambler’s addiction, and some of those effects are:
- Feelings of physical as well as emotional abandonment
- They are often left alone while their parent gambles. This leads to poor nurturing and care and a plethora of problems.
- Parents often verbally, emotionally, and sometimes physically abuse the child. Children of gambling addicts have a high chance of becoming gambling addicts later in life.
Compulsive Gambling
While some of the gamblers gamble in casinos and similar places, some gamble online. This means that internet gambling is one of the most dangerous forms of gambling for these types of people, since it works 24/7 and can result in quick and devastating results. Some of those effects can be completely devastating, like:
- If the parent is constantly home and gambling on the internet, they can miss work and other obligations. This leads to severe financial loss, and it affects the entire family immediately.
- Not exclusive to online gambling, but compulsive gamblers may feel obliged to try and salvage the situation by gambling away their home in hopes of recouping losses.
Gambling addiction is a serious threat to anyone that gambles. It’s a treatable and curable disease and should be addressed as soon as the first symptoms show up.
